Patricio O'Donnell, M.D., Ph.D.

JOINED THE SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL IN 2007

Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology and of Psychiatry
University of Maryland School of Medicine

Dr. O’Donnell’s research is oriented towards understanding the neural bases of brain and behavior disorders. He worked as a postdoctoral fellow with Anthony Grace at the University of Pittsburgh, where he pioneered studies on the physiological properties of the nucleus accumbens, and then moved on to establishing his own research program at Albany Medical College before moving to the University of Maryland. Dr. O’Donnell’s current research focuses on the modulation of cortical brain circuits by dopamine, how this modulation matures during adolescence and the mechanisms by which it becomes dysfunctional in rodent models of brain and behavior disorders. Another aspect of Dr. O’Donnell’s research is the neural basis of the dual-diagnosis condition of drug addiction and schizophrenia, again using developmental animal models.

Dr. O’Donnell earned his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Buenos Aires.

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